Faux frost is the perfect way to take your winter decor to the next level. Turn simple pine branches, holly leaves, berries, and pinecones into snow-laden Christmas centerpieces for your holiday table with practically no effort. You can even use this trick on your favorite holiday wreaths or garlands. All you need is a little bit of Borax—yes, it's really that simple!
How to Make DIY Faux Frost with Borax
Instagram creator Briana Bosch recently went viral after showing followers a two-ingredient DIY hack. The video, which has more than 75,000 likes, demonstrates how to create faux frost with simple ingredients.
To make the frost, you’ll need 6 tablespoons of Borax to 1 cup of hot water; mix them together until the borax is completely dissolved in the hot water. Once your mix is ready, it’s time to dip—grab the greenery you want to frost and drop it into the solution, ensuring that it’s completely submerged.
Bosch says that her Borax creations take about an hour to crystallize when submerged in Borax, after which they’re ready to be moved to a towel to dry off completely.
Bosch recommends wearing disposable gloves for this craft to avoid irritation. Alternatively, you can use salt instead of Borax for a similar effect.
To make it easier to safely retrieve her dipped items, Bosch ties them onto a wooden dowel that she lays across the top of her dipping bowl. Then, you can simply lift the dowel when your items are ready, and easily transfer them to a drying rack or paper towel.
According to Bosch, the decorations last several months when completed, but the crystals will eventually fall off. Fortunately, any faux frosted fruit or greenery can be composted at the end of the year, when you’re ready to put your holiday decorations away.
What to Decorate with Faux Frost
If you love making citrus garlands or setting out bowls of cranberries on your holiday dinner table, this hack is the perfect way to create mess-free faux frost that won’t shed all over your home (or your food). Attach the crystalized greenery you make to your DIY holiday wreath, or add texture to the garlands you hang up around the home.
You can also shape small twigs or pipe cleaners into snowflakes before dipping these into the Borax solution, too. This will leave you with cute tree ornaments or hanging window decor once they’ve crystalized.
If you want to tint your Borax solution, food dye is a great way to do so. Just a smidge of light blue dye can give your crystals an icier feel, while it can also be fun to add pink or green crystals to holiday decor, too.
Borax is not food-safe, so take care using these frosted decorations in areas where food will be served. Keep the decorations out of reach of children and pets.
Tips for Successful Faux Frost Decor
Commenters who have tried the hack recommend washing off certain items before you dip them in Borax. One commenter mentions that washing your pinecones to get the dirt off is essential, and Bosch advises a thorough rinse of any pine branches you use to avoid accidentally crystalizing dirt and debris.
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